Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
2544

Women find it important for men they're dating to like their pets.

A University of Houston researcher polled 120 heterosexual couples about their closeness to their pets and their happiness with their relationships. Most of the volunteers (75%) were dog owners, and the researchers found that women were more likely to be happy with their boyfriends if the boyfriends were close to their pets. Men, conversely, didn't place much importance on their girlfriends' interest in their pets. Furthermore, men who said they had an especially close bond with their pets were happier with their relationships, regardless of how their girlfriends felt about the animal.

Tuesday

Fact N°
2545

Using lighter-colored plates can make you eat less.

A study in the journal Health Affairs set out to investigate the effect of apparent portion size on the amount people eat. Researchers found that up to one-third of diners at a Chinese restaurant were willing to eat a lower-calorie meal with half as much rice, even if the meal cost the same as the version with a full serving of rice (and weighing leftovers determined that regardless of which meal people opted for, they all wound up throwing away the same amount). Researcher Brian Wansink argued that the appearance of a full meal is more important to consumers than how much food is actually there, and his previous research has determined that people will serve 18% more pasta onto a red plate than a white one (the stark contrast makes them more aware of the volume of food). But if the pasta is an alfredo dish, the reverse is true.

Wednesday

Fact N°
2546

Disclosing your goals often makes you less likely to work at them.

Publicly declaring your long-term goals may sometimes make you more likely to stick to them, but psychologists have found, over a series of experiments, that the opposite often happens. In one study, NYU psychologists polled law students who then either submitted their questionnaires in private or publicly went over their responses with a researcher. When both groups were given the chance to participate in a difficult project analyzing criminal law cases, the private group did more actual work than the public group. Declaring your goals to someone else, according to the study's authors, often functions as a substitute for actual achievement -- the declaration feels like something accomplished in and of itself.

Thursday

Fact N°
2547

People are more likely to watch romantic movies when they're cold.

Researchers at the University of Colorado and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology analyzed data from a movie rental company and found that people's preference for romantic movies increased when the weather outside was cold. The researchers conducted four laboratory experiments investigating this effect. In one version, participants drank either hot or cold tea before being asked to choose a movie, and in another, an experimenter lowered the temperature of the surrounding room itself. Both experiments showed that people have an increased preference for romances when they are physically colder.

Friday

Fact N°
2549

Earth's clouds are shrinking.

The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) monitors solar radiation as it researches Earth. The instrument, housed on NASA's Terra satellite, has been analyzing the planet's clouds since its launch in 2000, and its records show that our clouds have lowered 1% over the past decade (which equates to a decrease of 100-130 feet). Potentially due to a change in the wind currents responsible for cloud formation, the decline isn't necessarily a bad thing; it could even help the planet cool down more efficiently.

Saturday

Fact N°
2550

Fear distorts how you perceive size.

An Ohio State study collected arachnophobes who were involved in exposure therapy (in this case, interacting with a large spider in a lab setting) and asked them to rate their levels of distress during the experience. When the spider was concealed, participants drew a line representing the size of the spider they'd just seen. The participants who were most afraid drew lines 50% larger than those who were least afraid. A follow-up experiment attempted to gauge whether it was the participants' perception or just their memory that had been distorted, and asked them to draw size lines while looking directly at the spiders. The study had the same results, indicating that fear actually influences your senses, not just your recollection.

Sunday

Fact N°
2551

World of Warcraft can improve a person's ability to focus.

A study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior gave older adults (between 60 and 77) a series of tests to measure various cognitive skills. Half of them were then asked to play World of Warcraft for an hour a day. Both groups were then given the same cognitive tests two weeks later. Those who'd played the game saw improvement in some areas, such as focus.